


Miraculous Online

by SailorChibi



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Miraculous Ladybug AU, Sword Art Online - Freeform, implied gabriel agreste/nathalie sancoeur, ladybug and chat noir are avatars, minimal angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-23 20:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16625789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: What do you do when you're freed after having been trapped inside of an online game for over two years?Adrien finds his partner.





	Miraculous Online

"Are you ready for this?"

Chat opened his eyes, unsurprised to see his partner standing over him. After two years - well, one year, eight months, and three days, to be precise - her face was as familiar to him as his own. He didn't think he'd ever tire of those beautiful blue eyes looking at him with such naked affection.

"No," he admitted. "Are you?"

Ladybug hummed softly, taking a seat beside him. "Yes and no. I'm excited that we might finally be going home. I can't wait to see Maman and Papa again. But I'm worried about whether or not we can do this."

"We can," Chat said without hesitation. He and Ladybug could do _anything_ together. 

She smiled, her eyes crinkling beneath the spotted mask. "And I'm also worried about what happens when we go home."

He wasn't sure what to say to that, because the same thoughts had been running through his mind on a constant loop since they'd reached the 95th floor. It was funny. Back when Papillon had originally trapped him and 9,999 other people in Miraculous Online, all Chat had been able to think about was getting back to his father. Like all the other players, he'd been terrified of the thought of dying and never escaping the game.

But then he'd met Ladybug. Her sass and confidence had kept him going even when he wanted to give up. Through her, he'd met the other members of their guild: Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen Bee, and Le Paon. The six of them had become a force to be reckoned with, but none more so than him and Ladybug. They were an unbeatable duo.

And now he might be losing her.

Ladybug laid down beside him, stretching out on the grass so that they could look at the sky overhead. The once-unfamiliar constellations had since become a comforting sight. Chat had them memorized now, to the point where he would be able to map them with his eyes shut. He wondered what it would feel like to look up at the real sky. He wondered what it would feel like to take off the virtual reality helmet.

What would it be like to move his real body?

"Chat, do you remember what you said the night you asked me to marry you?"

Chat turned his head to look at her in surprise. "What?"

Her eyes were trained on the sky. "You said that you didn't know if we'd ever get out of this game, but that if we were trapped here forever, you wanted to spend the rest of your days with me. That if this was all that we had, you wanted it to be with the person you loved the most."

He flushed slightly at hearing his passionate words echoed in her voice, but nodded. "Yes. And you started to cry and told me you loved me, and then you said yes."

Ladybug smiled and finally looked back at him. "You were right," she said, and held up her right hand. Against the red-and-black spots, her silver ring glimmered in the twilight. Chat unconsciously touched his own hand, where an identical ring rested on his own finger.

"I've always been grateful you were brave enough to ask. I want to win tomorrow so that I can marry you in real life."

His eyes popped open wide at that. "What - really?"

The astonishment in his voice made her frown, and she gently punched his shoulder. "Of course, stupid cat! We've been married for almost six months. You think I want to stop being your wife just because we're escaping?"

"I didn't know what to think," he admitted, a little dazed. They'd all changed so much. Tons of people had died. Yet at that moment, he was infinitely grateful that he'd been imprisoned in Miraculous Online.

"Stupid," Ladybug mumbled again, scooting closer. She intertwined their fingers and lifted their hands up so that they could see their rings at the same time as she added, "You better find me in real life. I won't forgive you if you don't."

His throat got tight. "I will. I swear." He brought their joined hands down and kissed the back of her hand, then turned his head and kissed her. Part of him wished they could stay here forever. Ladybug and her Chat Noir.

Later, as he watched his friends fall in battle, he would wonder why they'd pushed so hard to escape. He'd call on his ultimate attack and join Ladybug as they ran at the final boss. He'd push Ladybug out of the way and take the blow; she'd scream his name as the boss shattered apart in defeat. He'd fall to the ground and watch as his health points rapidly began to run down into dark red.

"Marinette," Ladybug would say, her face streaked with tears. "My name is Marinette."

He'd close his eyes. He'd die.

When his eyes opened, Adrien wasn't sure where he was. He could hear a machine beeping, but there was a helmet obscuring his vision. His hands shook badly when he reached up to pull the helmet off to reveal a hospital room. He stared around for a long moment, trying to figure out what had happened.

"We did it?" he whispered, eyes darting around. His hands and arms were so thin. It was a far cry from the muscularity he was used to seeing on Chat. 

The beeping from the machine increased. Suddenly, the door flew open and a much older Gabriel Agreste rushed inside. Gabriel froze a few feet inside the door, eyes wide with astonishment.

"Adrien?!" he gasped.

"Father," Adrien said, dropping the helmet. It hit the floor with the sound of something breaking, which jolted Gabriel into action. He shot over to the bed and yanked Adrien into the tightest hug of Adrien's life. Adrien was left gaping with astonishment, because his father had _never_ hugged him like this.

"Oh my," Nathalie gasped from the doorway, having run into the room after Gabriel. "Adrien? You're awake!"

"Nathalie," Adrien croaked, his eyes filling with tears. She looked older too. There were new lines on her face and a lot of grey around her temples. He was struck with the sudden, overwhelming feeling that he'd missed _so much_.

"Mon dieu," Nathalie whispered. She came into the room and reached out to take Adrien's hand. He held tightly to her, hugging his father with his other hand. 

Their reunion was cut short by the appearance of a nurse, attracted by the machines. He freaked out upon seeing Adrien awake and alert, and immediately called for doctors. What followed was a series of tests that seemed like they would never end. Adrien succumbed to all of them, still overwhelmed by the fact that they had actually won.

As soon as the doctors deemed him fit, a couple members of the police showed up to speak to him. Adrien didn't even know what to say. He stuttered over his words at first, then got caught up in thinking about Ladybug. He looked down at his empty hand. There was no ring.

Marinette. She'd said her name was Marinette.

"The other people - did they wake up?" Adrien asked, looking up at Nathalie.

"Most of them have. Others are taking longer," Nathalie said, her expression filled with concern.

Adrien sucked in a sharp breath, one hand flying to his mouth. What if she hadn't woken up? What if none of them had? Ladybug was his wife, his partner, and he needed her. But he also needed his brothers, Carapace and Paon, and his sisters, Rena and Queen Bee. He needed to know,

"Alright, gentlemen, we're cutting this short. My son needs his rest. You can come back and question him more later."

Gabriel ushered the policemen out of the room. Adrien ignored them, turning to Nathalie. "There was a girl I met," he said, grabbing her arm. His hand was pathetically weak. "Her name was Marinette. I need to find her."

Nathalie looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "I will find her. I promise."

"Thank you," Adrien whispered. As weird as it was to be back in the real world, it was even weirder not to have Ladybug at his side. He kept reaching for a hand that wasn't there.

There were more tests. So many more tests. Adrien lost track of them all. The slightest of things left him swimming with exhaustion, and he found it difficult to focus when he couldn't stop thinking about the ones he'd left behind. He was vibrating with intensity when, at the end of the second day, Nathalie came to him and nodded.

"There's a patient here by the name of Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she said, and Adrien gasped with relief.

"I need to see her," he said. "I need - Nathalie, would you do me one more favor?"

"Of course. Anything," Natalie said, and Adrien leaned up to whisper in her ear. Her eyes went very wide, and she looked at him oddly, but she'd said anything and he knew she would follow through on it. That was the kind of person she was.

She slipped out just as Gabriel arrived with food. Adrien shared the meal with his father, but he could barely eat. He was too anxious, too excited. His hands shook as he lifted the spoonful of soup to his lips. Gabriel watched him with open concern, but Adrien couldn't bring himself to tell his father the truth. Their relationship had changed completely and he didn't know how to handle that yet.

Nathalie returned with a package and a wheelchair. "Here," she said, handing him the package.

"What's this?" Gabriel demanded.

"Adrien wants to go see someone." Nathalie's sharp look was enough to quell Gabriel, which was something Adrien would have to ask about - later. Much later.

Gabriel helped him into the chair. Nathalie stood behind him to push it. Adrien quickly unwrapped the package, checked the contents, and slipped it into the pocket of his hospital gown. His heart was pounding. He'd hoped that he and Ladybug would be at the same hospital - she was from Paris, just like him. Thank god for small miracles.

They got off on the second floor and Nathalie pushed him down the hall to a specific room. As they stopped in front of it, Adrien's eyes swept across a blue of people until he focused on one specific face. It was fortunate that he was no longer hooked up to any machines, because his heart skipped several beats when he saw those beautiful blue eyes that had so captivated him.

"My Lady," he breathed.

Ladybug's - Marinette's - head snapped around immediately, and she stared at him. "Minou?" she gasped.

"Dude!" said a boy in the crowd, who sat beside a girl. They were in wheelchairs too, and looked familiar - Carapace and Rena, Adrien realized distantly.

He had eyes only for Marinette. WIthout thinking about it, he pushed himself up. His legs wobbled badly and he nearly fell; Gabriel appeared beside him, offering a silent arm to steady him. Adrien leaned heavily against his father and moved towards the bed, blind to everything except the tears streaming down Marinette's face.

She reached for him, and he gasped when her hand touched his face. It felt like coming home. He sank down onto her bed, knees suddenly weak, and leaned into her touch.

"I thought I'd lost you," Marinette whispered. "I couldn't tell if I'd broken the reward in time."

"I - wait, what? You broke the reward?" Adrien stared at her in astonishment.

"It was the only thing I could think of to do! Besides, I didn't want it. You were gone." Her hand shook as she caressed his cheek. "I had nothing left to live for."

"You saved me," Adrien told her, turning his head so he could kiss her hand. "You saved us all, My Lady."

"Only because you wouldn't let me give up. You kept me going." Marinette smiled even through her tears. "And then you found me."

"I promised that I would," Adrien said. Now was the moment. He fumbled in his pocket and brought out the box. Marinette's eyes grew about three sizes.

"Chat?" she gasped. 

"We're not trapped anymore, but I still want to spend the rest of my days with you," Adrien said, opening the box. Inside were two very simple silver rings. Nathalie had done an excellent job matching them to the ones they'd had in the game.

Marinette's free hand flew to her mouth. "You..."

"Marry me again?" Adrien asked, his hands trembling.

"Yes," Marinette said, more tears spilling down her cheeks. "Yes, of course I'll marry you again, you silly kitty." She flung her arms around his neck, pulling him into her embrace. Adrien wrapped his free arm around her, crying into her hospital gown.

Marinette was the one who got control of herself first. She got a hand between them and fumbled with the box until she'd gotten the rings free. She slid one onto her finger and the other onto Adrien's. It felt _right_. He hadn't even realized how much he was missing his ring until he had it back.

"This is so romantic."

Oh, right. They weren't alone. Adrien's head popped up. Gabriel was staring at him with an open mouth. An older man and woman who were probably Marinette's parents looked equally shocked. Nathalie was slightly less surprised, though her eyebrows were raised high. Rena, on the other hand, was beaming.

"Good move, Chat!" she said, giving him the thumbs up. "I would've had to hunt you down and kick your ass if you'd messed with my girl's heart."

"Alya, he helped to saved us all," the boy said, rolling his eyes. "I'm Nino, by the way."

"Adrien," Adrien said dazedly, smiling at the both of them. "Have you seen Paon or Bee?"

Marinette leaned her head against his. "Paon... Nathanael... he stopped by for a moment earlier. He was looking for Bee. He was sure she was here too."

"I got his number," Alya said, waving a phone. Adrien had no idea how she'd gotten her hands on one that fast.

"Um, excuse me," the big man Adrien didn't know said

"Oh, Papa!" Marinette's cheeks reddened, but she was beaming. "This is the man I was telling you about, Chat Noir. He's my partner." She spoke to her parents, but she looked at Adrien with such love in her eyes that he could hardly stand it.

"So I see," the man said, frowning slightly.

"Adrien, these are my parents, Tom and Sabine," Marinette went on. 

"It's very nice to meet you, Adrien," Sabine said with a gentle smile. "Are these your parents?"

"Yeah," Adrien said. "This is Gabriel and Nathalie." 

"Pleasure to meet you," Sabine said to Nathalie, offering her hand for a shake. Nathalie took it. 

"Likewise," Nathalie said.

Adrien ignored them, looking back at Marinette. It was so strange to see her face without the mask. He touched her cheek, tracing the spot where it used to be. A sweet, sad smile spread across her lips and she cupped his face, thumbs tracking where his own mask used to be. 

"I love you," she whispered fiercely. "I think we can do this."

"We can do anything," Adrien said. He wanted to kiss her, but he didn't think their first kiss outside the game should take place with so many people watching. He settled for kissing her hand again, specifically the new ring she wore, and she kissed his cheek in return. The touch of her lips was at once strange and familiar, but so _real_.

He could get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


End file.
